Trees Have Red Eyes
by templeofvirtues
Summary: (SASUKEXHINATA) Sasuke has amnesia and Hinata is running from her clan. An unlikely encounter leads to a friendship and romance down the road after learning what their clans mean to each other. Sasuhina. Please don't read if your just going to flame because of the pairing.
1. Chapter 1

_**Sprinting in darkness**_

A piercing glare stared at her, she felt like a fly , caught in the web of a spider unable to look away as the spider approached. It was difficult to see any shapes in the dark moonless night. But the moment those eyes fell upon her she was equally compelled to stare right back. Those eyes were special, she was surrounded by a non existent moon and yet she knew they saw her as clear as day. Even in complete darkness they glowed with a fiery red. She felt the power that radiated from those eyes, a dark terrible power. It reminded her of the color of fresh blood.

As she stared at those eyes in the dark forest, she felt her gut warn her. It told her what primal danger she was in. She recognized those red eyes, there was no mistaking what stood before her. The power of a pure blooded Sharingan user was before her. She Activated her Byakugan. Her heart racing a thousand miles and hour, and yet she refused to fall to the side and die. The smell of the forest was overpowering yet she could smell him. It was faint but it came across as a musk she imagined all men smelled like . The moment she locked onto those eyes she knew instinctively what they were.

His face was covered with shadow yet she knew he was intrigued by her. He hadn't said a word and yet she could feel the interest in him peak the moment he saw her Byakugan. Everyone wanted its power or feared or in this case found it interesting. She didn't feel his killing intent and it started to bother her deep in her stomach. Was he just going to stare at her until she died of exhaustion or starvation as they stood there locked in a standoff? She felt her stomach turn as the nerves began to weigh down on her. Then it struck her, it was all so simple.

Her heart had skipped a beat the moment she pulled it all together. She had fallen unconscious somewhere in her journey, she was dreaming. In her struggle to get away she never stopped , or so she thought. For even a moment to rest was not an option for her and that's when she fell asleep. But why was she dreaming of meeting Sasuke Uchiha and not of seeing Naruto's golden locks of hair. It was possible for her to have collapsed of sheer exhaustion. She was human after all but when and more importantly where along her journey. She looked away from the eyes that stood before her and looked around with her Byakugan. She was right at the edge of Konoha territory, she was sure of that fact. She recognized the land marks, and wondered if it was possible to be only dreaming of reaching it or if she was actually there in the flesh. Then suddenly the sound of her breathing began to register in her ears.

When she heard the sound of her heavy breathing returned her , the other senses began to return to her all at once. Each sense rushing to overpower her with the pain it felt in that moment. The sudden weight of her legs began to return to her, they felt on fire. It became all too clear once the pain returned. This was no dream, she turned back to where she saw his eyes and found he had moved closer. She took a step back and then another. She stumbled for a moment, the thick grass made it difficult to pass through. She questioned herself if her heart had always been beating so loud. She could hear herself panting, she became even more conscious of her heartbeat. Could he hear it, could he smell the fear she had at that moment, and could he see she was bluffing. She tried to slow down her breathing, she took a fighting stance but she was internally crying. She was afraid for her life in a way she couldn't handle.

Her heart began to pound so loud it filled her ears once again after just slowing than a moment. She wondered if the world could hear how loud her breathing had become or that her heart seemed to run at a speed that felt it could just pop out of her chest and keep running. Those red eyes stared at her without saying a word, almost as if frozen in time. She wanted to scream at him demanding he do something. If he was going to kill her, she wished he do it already, or at the very least say a word .

Thirty seconds passed in silence, as she tried desperately to gather chakra. She would have a singular moment to counter if he attacked. She emptied her mind and waited but it was to no avail. He didn't attack , all he did was take a step closer. It was then she realized Her mind had been caught in between breaths . Unable to think or register new information until she began to breathe fresh air again. He had said something to her, but she was too busy being afraid to hear him. she couldn't remember what he had said.

Her lips wanted to ask him to repeat his words but they couldn't. Her lips were tightly sealed, frozen in place by her fear. Then her mind shifted to recall her run. She bit her lip as what she suspected to be her life flashing before her eyes began. A run from the heart of the Hyuga manor to where she stood flashed before her eyes. She bit her lip even harder as she realized that would be the last thought she would take to the grave. The journey from the Hyuga manor to the border of Konohagakure was several miles.

It was so far that her legs had become so numb they didn't even register as a part of her anymore. Her legs had been shaking the moment she stopped. Did he know she was on her last legs? She felt ashamed , if her clan could see her at that moment. She would die from shame, her body had begun to quake from exhaustion. Her body moved side to side unable to remain in one place for long. She willed herself to remain standing refusing to fall to the floor and rest. She inhaled through her nose air , air from the deep forest. The air burned her lungs, she had taken in too much air and her lungs and body exhausted repaid her in kind with a searing pain.

A sudden couple of steps brought her mind back from the momentary daze the pain in her lungs gave her. She was losing this fight, her exhaustion was killing her and there was nothing she could do. Her eyes watched those piercing red eyes move closer unable to scream at him to stop. It was neither fast nor slow the pace it had moved. But they had certainly moved closer, it went from eight feet or so apart to a mere five feet.

Another step followed, this time She raised her arms to guard herself. She didn't even remember the moment her arms dropped down from her guard stance. It was hard to maintain a thought.

This action seemed to register in those red eyes. She fought back tears, as she internally knew it might have just been wishful thinking on her part for him to have noticed. Those red eyes did not show anger, hostility or danger in them now. Only a clear acknowledgment of knowing she existed. Did he pity her and was walking over to take her life away. Was this mercy from him? A sudden shift occurred within Sasuke , he no longer moved towards her. He had changed directions to walk around her. She could now see it had taken steps to go around her , she felt insulted as if he had slapped her across the face. Was she not worthy of his time?

Did she not deserve even a quick death from him? He turned to face her completely, as if just changing his mind. Her eyes narrowed, as sweat dripped above her right eye and began to fall over it slowly. She closed her eyes , her chakra limits were about to be reached. She would be falling unconscious any moment now, this was certainly the end.

Her Byakugan had scanned the area she was in, but her frightened heart had been so afraid it didn't even register the information her eyes gave her. He was wounded, maybe fatally. This made her feel more secure, that he was also not at full strength and that maybe she could defend herself even in this weakened condition. But above all else she noticed markings on his skull suggesting damage to his skull. Just as her mind registered the damage to his body she felt everything go blank. And her knees buckled and her face descended towards the unforgiving solid ground with no chance of avoiding a crushing blow to her face.

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	2. Chapter 2

A song of storms

The sunlight bearing down on her face awakened her. She had been stuck in between a deep sleep and a hazy awakened state for the last two hours. Her body had been so tired it refused to let her escape her deep slumber until now. Her eyes fluttered open, revealing a beautiful lavender colored iris. She twisted her body to the right doing her best to avoid the light at all costs. The day was warm, but not as terrible as a summer's afternoon in Konoha. Her stomach and ribs hurt as she suddenly turned, her body ached and she could feel how sore her she was. Her hand moved towards her face , her hand felt heavy forcing her to use more effort to move it. As if her body was soaked in water , both of her arms moved slowly and felt heavy.

She placed her left hand firmly on her stomach , gently pressing down on it as if trying to hold in place her ribs from falling out. Her eyes suddenly darted back and forth from one side to the other trying to learn where she was. "Alone" She thought to herself as she searched for signs of life. She was surrounded by maple trees, hundreds of trees each identical from the last all around her. A rush of blood flooded her face and she began to panic, her heart raced and her finger tips grew cold from sweat. The thought of the man with red eyes , the color of blood appeared in her memories of the night before. Her eyes could see trees, grass , and a campsite but not him. Her mind began to switch between wondering where he was to questioning herself if he was a danger to her. "A Campsite" She thought to herself. It was clear now to her , she had awakened in a campsite alone . She saw no signs of sleeping bags or tracks and wondered whose campsite it was. Her memories of the day before , were perfectly vivid in her mind until the moment she fell asleep.

Her instinct was to activate her byakugan , but decided to not use any chakra until she felt she had to or she felt at a hundred percent. She looked down at what she was laying on and noted it to be a wooden log. The log had been freshly cut no older than a couple of hours, and in a way that reminded her of a cut made from a sharp blade. The log smelled of almost burned wood, it held a light smell fading over time. As if it had been previously burned without setting the whole log on fire, she could not imagine what could have given it that effect. She pulled herself up , her hands firmly gripping her pants legs and sat firmly on the log. She could feel the warning signs in her legs that they would be devastatingly exhausted and sore the next day. But this day she would be given a day of only minor soreness, and she was grateful it would let her travel a bit more. But the fact she knew the next day would have to be wasted in a forced day of rest, worried her a great deal and she did not want to fall behind anymore than she had already. As her feet touched the ground she could feel its almost muddy consistency, so cautiously she pressed down on it. When her foot did not slide down when adding more pressure she made an effort to stand. Her eyes notice her backpack , close to her feet.

She scanned it for holes, or breaches in it. Finding nothing a miss she opened it and found everything she had taken with her. Her next step was to do the same to all the pockets she had on her jacket, shirt, and pants to see if she had been pickpotted or had lost anything. Once again she found herself with nothing missing. She exhaled a deep breath and then inhaled. Her hands began to shake, but she pressed on. "Byakugan!" Hinata whispered her hand forming the seal she needed. There was no dizziness or drain on her energies. And because of that she decided to take a step forward and make her way onward, just as her feet took a third step forward away from the campsite she noticed him. His form was slumped against a log not far from her. She was now absolutely certain , it had been no dream. She had met this man with eyes the color blood the night before. She could see he was wounded , her byakugan allowed her to take an indepth look at his wounds. It was clear he had been wounded but managed to patch himself up. He was bleeding out due to his patchwork on himself coming undone.

She felt insecure in that moment. She wanted to keep running, to not look back and to make up the ground she lost by waking up so late and the ground the next day would be lost. But at the edge of her every thought she knew this man had saved her. That he must have carried her to his campsite and left her there. She bit her lip and cautiously approached the man. As she moved closer to him, he had taken the time to drag himself to the river close by. She could see that he could walk and held no real wounds that impaired him walking. So she began to wonder why he had crawled over to the river. When she was close enough for him to notice her, he turned around and faced her. She gasped unintentionally when she saw his face. Two cloths wrapped around his face, one above and one below his nose. The cloths were stained by what she presumed to be his blood. It was clear to her even more than before that the bandages were wrapped around by an amature, was little to no knowledge of first aid.

The night before in the darkness she had only seen eyes the color of blood. But even then she knew what they were, even knowing she couldn't help the expression she held on her face. The man looked at her with a look of concern and then it turned into a look of contemplation. His eyebrows furrowed as he tried to remember how he knew her. She took a step closer, her eyes searching his face for answers. The man showing clear signs of recognizing her began to draw air into his lungs before having a coughing fit. She could see he had stopped breathing for a couple of moments when he had noticed her sudden appearance.

"Sasuke Uchiha" A sudden and beautifully soft pronunciation of his name release from her ruby lips. Her voice suddenly appearing within her. The way she said his name made even her realize it was almost a question being asked out loud to anyone who could hear. The man red eyes looked at her and searched her face for an answer. For the only thing he could do was to think to himself. "Sasuke Uchiha" Those words held no meaning to him, the only thing he knew within his mind was that this stranger had collapsed the night before.

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	3. Chapter 3

_**Cutting the hedges**_

Looking into the sharingan she began to wonder if he had deactivated it last night or had it spent the entire night with it still active. Even if he had mastered the sharingan and his body had been made to use it , he needed rest. Her hand reached out to touch him, she couldn't help it. There was no thought behind it other than to try to calm him. She managed to touch his hand without it being pulled back. His eyes studied her , and his sharingan almost shinned. The more she looked at it the more it seemed more unique ,special and beautiful. "Who hurt you?" She asked him . She felt embarrassed at how her mind started picturing Sasuke as an injured animal as she said the words. When nothing was said she took a step closer. Sasuke didn't move but a look of caution took shape. "Let me heal you, let me help you". Her voice was calm but her mind was a buzz with questions. Sasuke didn't pull back even with her being so close. "Who did you fight?" She asked Sasuke in a calm controlled tone. Her eyes stared into his and then her mind began to form images , his sharingan genjutsu. She didn't fight it , she trusted those eyes for just this moment. In all the time she knew Sasuke, he would never have allowed any women close to him yet he did now. That told her how severe his injuries were.

Sasuke took a step forward, unafraid of anyone at this point in his life. The sound of a snake hissing, drew vivid memories of his old master. His eyes turn from a dark charcoal to a deep scarlet red color. "Sasssssuke Uchihhha" The words erupted from Orochimaru lips. They couldn't help but sound excited and happy. Orochimaru revealed himself, his white skin as pale as the moon revealed him to be impossible to mistaken for anyone else. His long hair and snake eyes remained the same. But he did smell of something strong and he couldn't figure out what it was. "Hn" Sasuke said in a neutral tone. "I have waited far too long for this, and yet i am sad at the thought of losing my favorite student" Orochimaru said in a cheeky tone. Sasuke ignored the comment. His eyes scanned the area and looked for traps or help that might make things more annoying for him. His eyes revealed no help, or traps he could see.

He was surrounded by stone and granite with little to get in his way. The land was flat, but filled with sharp rocks. It wasn't narrow but he could expect it wasn't more than seventy feet in any direction before they ran into a wall, inside the canyon they resided in. The stone walls to his sides were just above a hundred feet made it clear Orochimaru had planned ahead. He would have to go through him, if he wanted to leave . He didn't care what Orochimaru had planned, in any case he walked into his own funeral. "Orochimaru eyes closed and remained firmly shut even as Sasuke took a side step, a trick learned from his former student. Sasuke had no doubt Orochimaru saw his every movement, even with both eyes closed. Sasuke leaped back , in his previous fight with Kabuto he had avoided killing him, this fight would be far deadlier. He created even more distance in order to see what the snake had planned. A short range fight normally would favor Sasuke, but Orochimaru employed too many poisons and it was difficult to not see himself being poisoned. Whether by contact, injection , aeroral or ingestion. His defense against his Sharingan would be meaningless even if it meant genjutsu was pointless now, he wasn't aiming to take him alive. He was not going to walk away from this fight.

There was no room for error, for Sasuke or Orochimaru. Sasuke did not feel fear or adrenaline only a controlled sense of cautious tenison in his stomach. From below Sasuke "Mandara no Jin (Formation of Ten Thousand Snakes Silk)" A Orochimaru clone hissed. Orochimaru clone suddenly emerged from the ground, it opened its mouth wider than any human should be able to. A thousand snakes erupted from a clone of Orochimaru, they moved fast and without a doubt a singular purpose. Sasuke did a black flip, upward to avoid being grabbed. Sasuke leapt several feet up into the sky. A sudden strike with freighting speed appeared from above , below , and from behind Sasuke at once. From above him he could hear "Kuchiyose no Jutsu (Summoning jutsu)" A large giant of a snake with its jaws moved downward with immense speed. It was one of the famous snakes Orochimaru was known for. Sasuke without missing a beat formed seals with his hands. His hands rapidly forming chakra and seal without slowing for a moment to think.

Sasuke released a "Chidori Eisō (Chidori spear)" technique a spear of lightning sprang from his right hand upward. It cut through the snake with brutal efficiency, once he had cut it in half, he swang it downward in a sweeping motion. It severed the closest snakes form the Orochimaru clone on the ground below him. The summoned snake's body fell downward , cut perfectly in half by Sasuke , its weight crashing below Sasuke. Sasuke eyes turned and spotted two Orochimaru's , one real and the other a clone. " Fūton: Daitoppa (Wind Release: Great Breakthrough)" Both Orochimaru called out. As Sasuke descending towards the Snakes below him a foot away from them. "Chidori Senbon (One Thousand Birds Senbon)" Sasuke called out as he released a volley of needles created from chidori. They pierced and pinned the snakes below him to the ground. No longer wanting to be on the defensive, Sasuke began to gather chakra, he moved to summon his personal hawk. But he couldn't make it in time before both sets of Futon: Daitoppa hit him. A gust of incredible power pressed him hard, squeezing him against the power of the opposite gust. It was powerful and Sasuke knew in a matter of seconds it would start to crack bones. The air was knocked out of him, and it grew hard to think so he relied on instinct. Sasuke activated his Susanoo. His sharingan changed into his eternal mangekyou sharingan form, and a strong purple colored chakra released from Sasuke . A spectral guardian formed around him, holding a bow.

The pressure from the wind no longer held Sasuke. Sasuke descended downward towards the snakes of Mandara no jin technique. Sasuke Susanoo crushed most of the snakes with its weight. Both of Orochimaru clones and the real Orochimaru then proceeded to summon giant snakes. Sasuke's Susanoo started to mold chakra and create arrows for its bow. Sasuke began to get angry, and he released a set of arrows at Orochimaru and his clones. Orochimaru moved like a snake his form became long, like a snake he slithered around the field. But it was all in vain Orochimaru speed was too fast to pin him down. The summoned giant snakes attacked his susanoo, their mouths hissing venom. Sasuke ignored them, knowing well enough orochimaru was real threat. He was more than confident his Susanoo could protect him. A set of arrows laced with Amaterasu flame fired, once again Orochimaru and his clones dodged. Only this time Sasuke was able to pierce one of the Orochimaru's. The Giant snakes wrapped themselves around his susanoo, and Orochimaru clone split himself in half. The half covered in flame turn to ash but the other half escaped. "Amaterasu" Sasuke said in a irritated tone. He was done playing around. The Black flames of Amaterasu took shape around the Susanoo, it ignited the snakes. Howls of intense pain began to be heard from the snakes . Sasuke eyes narrowed as all three Orochimaru's stood directly in front of him. Before Sasuke could think of a reason for this the center Orochimaru formed seals. Sasuke Charged up an arrow. The two clones Orochimaru summoned disappeared in a puff of smoke. "Kuchiyose: Sanjū Rashōmon (Triple Rashomon)" Orochimaru hissed. Three massive gates appeared, each holding a demonic shaped face. Sasuke fired his arrow, it landed by could not even dent it.

The snakes that had wrapped themselves around susanoo were now nothing more than ash. Sasuke fired several more shows of his arrows, but they could not destroy the gates. Sasuke released his Susanoo , his eyes showed him Orochimaru was still behind those gates.

"Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu (Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu)" Sasuke called out in a irritated tone. He released a massive fireball that went crashing into the gate. Once again Sasuke attack didn't inflict damage against the gate. The gates fit perfectly in canyon making it impossible to go around, but that didn't mean Sasuke couldn't go above or below the gate. Sasuke began to form seals to summon his hawk, when he heard a silver chime ring. Sasuke eyes soon spotted the bell. A silver bell no larger than a marble, it was clearly of a sound ninja design. It was attached to a string, that lead straight to the gate and ended somewhere behind the massive object. Another ring to his opposite shoulder rang, this time he began to take Orochimaru seriously. He turned as fast he could towards the other bell. "Genjutsu" Sasuke thought to himself. Again and again the bells rang over and over each time they were different bells. Sasuke spotted all of them , all 64 bells planted each holding a string connecting each one. He remembered how Kabuto had exploited the fact Susanoo did not protect his ears from this type of Genjutsu.

It was clear to him that Orochimaru had planted the bells when he was running from Sasuke's Susanoo arrows. Sasuke without a second to waste formed seals , as fast as he could. Each bell was connected to the other, he knew it only took seconds to paralyze him. "Katon: Ryūka no Jutsu (Fire Release Dragon Fire Technique)" Sasuke screamed out in a fury. Sasuke released fire from his lips and casted it towards the bells. They ignited and followed down the line to the original bell behind the gates. The fire was immense and shaped like a dragon, they moved with incredible speed. A sudden scream of agony erupted from behind the massive gates. Sasuke grin ear to ear , the gates before him disappeared only making him savor the idea of Orochimaru being turned to a block of ash. Sasuke inhaled a breath and exhaled. He felt exhausted suddenly, almost as if all the adrenaline in him suddenly gave out. His knees buckled and he fell to the floor. As he fell downward to the floor , his eyes locked onto Orochimaru dashing towards him at top speed. His body collapsed downward his facing moments away from crashing hard against the stone. 

Orochimaru right hand tapped Sasuke Stomach, the force enough to knock an ordinary man out cold. The "Gogyō Fūin (Five Elements seal)" activated and Sasuke eyes regressed from its Eternal Mangekyou form to his Original Sharingan form. "Fushi Tensei (Living corpse Reincarnation)" - Orochimaru hissed his words sounding less human and more of that of a rattlesnake. His hands formed the seal with incredible speed. Orochimaru faced turned into a twisted grin. "You've always been too naive Sasuke boy, the moment you see victory you leap to grab it" Orochimaru tone with filled with glee. "How?" Sasuke voice was low on the edge of falling unconscious. "You killed a lot of Snakes, trying to avoid being bitten you assumed they were ordinary snakes". Orochimaru said with a grin. "I inhaled the poison, their bodies deteriorate and released the poison into the air, because i was too close" Sasuke attempted to piece together the puzzle. "I modified my snakes to release their poison by touch , bite , inhalation of their poisons, and when they decomposed a sweet unscented poison brief but good enough." Orochimaru raised Sasuke face to his own. A foot away from each other faces . "You planned even the location you wanted to ambush me at". Sasuke said in a low tone. "It pays to plan ahead, the hardest part was removing that pesky Susanoo" Orochimaru said. Sasuke eyes locked onto Orochimaru , a look of absolute destain emitting from Sasuke.

"Those beautiful eyes will be mine, and all of its power , secrets, and techniques will finally no longer be denied to me!" Orochimaru screamed. Sasuke glared defiantly at Orochimaru. "The snake from above you that you cut in half and a bit of the snakes you squashed with your Susanoo over time did the job, it wasn't even an elaborate technique simple really". Orochimaru smirked. "Poisoned by a dead snake" Sasuke muttered to himself. Orochimaru left hand began to quake and then his right hand. An all too familiar feeling returned. From within he began to panic. "The sharingan" Orochimaru hissed. Orochimaru fell to the ground, a loud thud followed by a scream of agony. "I sealed your chakra with my seal, you have no control over your chakra and the poison should have made it impossible to move " Orochimaru screamed. Sasuke body which was being held up by orochimaru fell to the floor. Sasuke lifted his head up, he had prepared his body to have a stronger immunity to snakes than the average man. While it didn't make him immune to snakes poison it did grant him a bit of resistance. "You let your guard down, the moment the poison began to work you no longer felt the need to fear me". Sasuke smugly said. Orochimaru squirmed on the floor.

Sasuke couldn't form seals and the poison began to shut down his legs completely. His resistance to snake poisons delayed the effects, it didn't neutralize it in any sense. Sasuke couldn't activate his Susanoo, he started to feel desperate. He didn't want to die, Izanagi began to appear as his only option. Sasuke willed himself to move his arms, once he had the strength he pushed as hard as he could to lift himself up. In two or three minutes they would be unresponsive. He turned his body using his arms to push himself off the ground. He positioned himself to land on his back. As he laid on his back he reached for his pockets, Orochimaru had remained ever present on his radar for most of his life. He looked for an antidote he carried around for Orochimaru snake bite, created from the body of the white snake he had defeated years ago. It was still the early stages as he could still think, but in a few minutes Izanagi wouldn't be an option. Once he located the antidote he carried he stabbed it into his leg. Sasuke laid on his back for a few minutes until he could feel his feet again. The numbness had settled in before he realized that he had lost all sensation in his feet.

Sasuke rose to his feet, weakened and almost a crawl but on his own. Orochimaru eyes remained wide open. He had used the very same technique he did the first time Orochimaru tried to steal his body. Adding insult to injury, It was his hubris to bring them face to face that had cost him. All Sasuke needed was eye contact and the smallest amount of chakra, even without complete control of his chakra on his worst days it was child's play for him. Sasuke eyes stared at him for a moment before his mouth began to foam. Orochimaru began to violently move his body , trying desperately to rid himself on the genjutsu. Sasuke didn't have the strength to kill Orochimaru, he couldn't even hold a kunai. It would take an hour before the Genjutsu was dispelled , Sasuke couldn't wait for that. With his chakra sealed away there was no way to survive he had to flee.

Orochimaru was done, there was nothing more he could do. Sasuke legs wobbled and he spat the disgusting taste that had formed in his mouth. He turned away from Orochimaru and headed towards Konoha. He would find Sakura and have himself healed. He dreaded the idea of asking for help, but the alternative was worse. A sudden kick knocked Sasuke leg down, Sasuke fell downward and was met by Orochimaru flailing fists. Orochimaru inhumane strength knocked Sasuke into the canyon walls.

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	4. Chapter 4

Explaining to death it had the wrong client

"Sasuke" her lips quivered as she said his name. Her mind return from her trip into the sharingan Genjutsu. Sasuke had remained still he was breathing slowly trying to conserve energy and his eyes seemed to have a set of dark rings under them now. Her mind had been given moments, emotions, and bursts of adrenaline but nothing solid. It was too fragmented a vision or memory she was shown , all she got out of the genjutsu was that Sasuke and Orochimaru had met. She saw Sasuke fighting using fire, and lightning techniques. He had been fighting snakes the size only he , Orochimaru , and Kabuto had been known to control. But the images had been so vivid and chaotic it was hard to be sure what he had tried to show her. Her curiosity was aflame, she wanted to know more to understand what happened.

Her body moved inch by inch closer to Sasuke sitting form, until she could smell his scent. Inches away from him , he acknowledged her closeness with solem unwavering eyes, filled with strength almost drained. He smelled of blood, forest, and his own natural scent that held a clean fragrance. Her mind tried to pin down that fragrance, never had she come across its pleasant savory scent. Her memory of their time as children reawakened then, thoughts of how Sasuke had been chased by all the girls vividly returned. The sounds of running, the sound of gigging , the sound of fear. Of his fear of them. She remembered the sound of his fear, whenever she saw Sasuke hiding from the other girls she imagined the sound of low shallow breaths. That vivid remarkable sound of the lowest shallowest breaths humanly possible, so at the edge of hearing you could hear the fear in his heart of being found and spotted by his fan girl mob. Her eyes closed for a moment, a light soft smile spread across her face at the thought of Sasuke cowering in a corner afraid to pop his out for fearing of being spotted by girls who adored and loved him. She smiled at the idea of Sasuke turning into a grand new puppy being shown off to children. Sasuke eyes softened and a calmness took root in him, her smile relaxed him. No evil could come from a smile like that, no danger could spring from someone who looked to have trouble no sharing her food or belongings to others.

He could see there was nothing to fear from her, her smile was so pure it held nothing but glee. Her mind snapped back for after a moment and then a blush spread on her face. She had been caught smiling like an airhead. "He must think i am some weird airhead who smiles at random times!" She reasoned with herself. A sudden jolt of blood rushed through her body as she internally panicked. How many times did she try desperately for others to take her seriously, to value her and as she thought of how she failed in that moment the blood rushed in her veins. A soft pink that had formed on her face turned bright red. Sasuke looked at her unsure what to do, he could only stay still as this person he had saved the day before began to have a meltdown. She raised her hands one by one up and began to shift between pointing to shifting to a soft fist. "I should explain myself, i should tell him how i want to help!" she reasoned with herself. Sasuke watched her get closer to him, he didn't move or say a word. "I wanted to thank you for…." She said with a uniquely high pitched tone. Sasuke moved a hand to rest on her shoulder. He couldn't think , so he followed his instinct. His head raged with a feeling of needles hitting the top of his skull and the feeling of liquid rushing from one side of his head to the other and back and forth. She sat up pushed out her chest, in a way a child caught doing something wrong would do at being called by name. The redness of her face turned dark almost a tomato colored, and she began to feel a fainting fiasco about to occur.

"My name is Hinata Hyuga, do you remember me?" She blurted out trying to say as much as possible in case she fainted suddenly. "...Hn…." Sasuke replied. She took it as a good sign and continued, "Why are you so injured, were you ambushed or in a difficult battle?" She blurted out as fast as she could. Sasuke body shifted uncomfortably and he winced in pain, his hand touched his face. Facepalming he maintained that for a minute as he waited for the intense headache to settle down long enough to gather a thought , there was no way it was going to go away. "Oh no he is face palming, he thinks that …...". She began rambling in her head. Sasuke removed his hand from his face and then shifted back as he watched the person in front of him begin to turn dark red. "Explosion" Sasuke thought to himself and he moved back a little. "No no no, i am not weird or a fan girl that is stalking you". Hinata blurted out when she saw Sasuke move back. "Fangirl?" Sasuke repeated the word and then began to try to recall something at the back of his mind. She shook her hands in front of her defiantly rejecting that association, her mind couldn't conjure a worse thing for him to associate with her.

Her eyes suddenly shifted to Sasuke stomach , it was exposed. Her Byakugan still active saw past the skin and noticed something. When he moved back the bandages slipped from their placement even further causing his wounds to be exposed but below the open cuts was something far worse. "A seal?" She said in a whisper. "Seal" Sasuke repeated. Her eyes locked onto his and she studied his sharingan shape. Then her eyes casted downward to his stomach once again, and she raised a hand to her face. She cupped her face and held it in her hand , she inhaled through her nose some air slowly allowing her lungs new oxygen. She studied the seal, it was foreign and absolutely unknown to her. "Maybe a form of sealing like that of the Hyuga". Hinata reasoned with herself. Sasuke watched Hinata face, she was so deep in thought he was able to really look at her. Her eyes , the unmistakable byakugan might as well have been staring at him, his eyes relentlessly looked at its every detail. "The seal must disrupt your control over your sharingan, your bleeding out chakra". She said in a scientific tone out loud. Sasuke just stared at her remaining still. Her fingers reached out and touched his abs, they ran up them and paused at several location before she stopped above his right peck.

Her eyes seeing the chakra points of Sasuke's body helped her see what the seal was doing. She knew exactly what a normal ninja body should look like, and especially when its chakra points had been disrupted. Any Hyuga worth their salt understood how to block and unblock chakra points, that was her clans bread and butter. Sasuke inhaled slowly some air, his breath he was as quiet as a mouse. Her hand firmly pressed down onto his chest, her eyes looked into his own but there was no eye contact. She was looking beyond Sasuke eyes and into his body, when she found what she had been looking for she inhaled a deep breath. Sasuke pushed his hands to the floor , and lifted himself up and tried to jump back. She watched his legs give out and saw how he crashed onto his back hard. She wasted no time using her Gentle fist technique attacked Sasuke Chakra points sealing them all of the ones she could safely seal. Sasuke winced in pain, he couldn't even raise his arms, She attacked with the utmost speed possible. Sasuke eyes fluttered open and closed trying to maintain himself awake, against a tsunami of pain demanding he give into them. Her hands grabbed onto Sasuke's own and then lightly squeezed them. "Your bleeding out chakra , even with the largest chakra pool possible you will eventually run out, i did the only thing i could to save you". She said with a stutter. A panic in her eyes grew worse as she saw Sasuke start to lose consciousness.

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	5. Chapter 5

_**Wounds need mending**_

She felt a cold wind pass through her, it brushed her spine and it startled her. She turned around to see a forest absent of any signs of life. It had never been loud but this day it felt silent devoid of sound. She moved her hands to her soft leather jacket, she pulled it tight to her body. As it pressed tightly to her body she felt suddenly alone. She looked down at Sasuke, her eyebrows furrowed and her skin felt cold and reptilian. "He isn't breathing". She quietly told herself. Her hand pressed against his chest, her fingernails pressing firmly against his skin. Slowly she pushed down , trying to create a beat in his heart. Her eyes watched helplessly as Sasuke Chakra points began to slow to a crawl and look dead. "He is dying" Hinata bit down on her lip and tears fell upon her face in waves. A sudden guilty thought came upon her, shamelessly she thought of Naruto. "Naruto will never forgive me for killing Sasuke". Hinata began to sobb. She laid her head on his chest, and listened in on an absent heartbeat that never came. "Naruto" She thought to herself with weepy eyes. Thoughts of holding Naruto hands sprang in her mind.

She started to imagine them eating at a ramen shop and watching Naruto devour the ramen. She imagined herself at his side with a smile across her face and her cheeks a bright red shade she had been tease so many times for. Then as her heart couldn't think of anything more perfect she saw Naruto's face turn dark. A rage filled Naruto looking at her. But his eyes didn't see her they saw past her. She would turn and see Sasuke's dead body , her hands would form fists scared. Naruto would turn from her and walk away slowly. She opened her eyes and shook her head trying to remove those awful thoughts from her mind. She stood up and looked down to Sasuke face. She couldn't do it, she couldn't leave. She fell to her knees and slammed her arms down onto Sasuke chest. "I can't ….I won't ….My family , My clan , and My Naruto!" She screamed at Sasuke. She saw Sasuke heart unmoving with her Byakugan , her hand shaking she pierced Sasuke flesh with her hand. Enhancing her hand with chakra she cut through his skin and grabbed onto his heart. She manually started pumping it , her hand infused with chakra helped his heart beat once again. She pulled her hand out of his side, her hands went straight for her pockets searching for something to close the wounds. She found cloth she could make a bandage but not the first aid kit she needed. Sasuke's blood fresh from a new wound moved down the ground by her feet.

The thought of all his blood leaving his body sprang into her head. She suddenly realized she couldn't even rest for a moment to take in his heart beating again. Her mind shifted to the campsite she had awakened at. She ran to it as fast as she could. Nearly tripping in her rush, she reached the site and ran to where the campfire ashes were. She grabbed two rocks ideal for making a fresh fire and sparked it against still usable lumber left over. There wasn't much left over from the previous fire but it would maintain a fire long enough for her to do what was necessary. She pulled out a cooking pot from her backpack , it was fairly small just large enough for a single serving of soup. Quite standard for all shinobi leaving for a long mission. She placed the pot on the fire and watched the heat turn the bottom of the pot fiery red. The moment it was nice and firey red she took off in a dash. She ran towards Sasuke holding the cooking pot in front of her. Arms length from her the cooking pot bounced up and down as she leaped , and ran over obstacles in her way to Sasuke. Once she reached him her hard breathing, made it difficult to be certain of whether Sasuke was actually breathing or not. The sight of his blood still dripping downward to the grass granted her the focus she needed. She pressed the cooking pot against the open wound, the searing hot cooking pot sizzled and Sasuke began to squirm. "He's alive" She said to herself. She threw the cooking pot to the side once she was sure the wound had been cauterized. She sat down on the floor , a foot away from Sasuke laying sleeping form. "We bought ourselves a few hours to make it to a doctor". She thought to herself.

After ten minutes of her laying on the ground with her eyes casted to the sky she decided it was time. She got to her feet and then walked over to Sasuke. She placed one of his arms over her shoulder and lifted with her legs. "Konoha" she said to Sasuke as she moved toward it. It was two steps forward then before she realized what she was doing. She shook her head and her body began to shake. Her grip on Sasuke weakened and he slid, she grabbed him in time and held onto him. It was dead weight, which made it harder on her. Within a few hours he might awaken, and it would possible for him to walk but she didn't have that kind of time. She shifted Sasuke again and turned their direction towards Sunagakure. "Gaara could help us" she thought to herself. She gently placed Sasuke on the floor. "Jūho Sōshiken (Gentle step twin lion fists)" Her two fists released her chakra they manifested physically into solid objects which formed into lion heads, they were her greatest techniques. Hinata didn't have a chance of carrying Sasuke the normal way, she had to improvise. She cut down the closest tree to her, slicing and weaving the shapes she needed. It was half an hour before she was able to create a very simple, but sturdy rickshaw . Its round wheel was a solid block, the wood was strong and not terrible heavy. It would be a strain but she couldn't let Sasuke die not now not ever. She placed his body on the rickshaw. "If we are being followed Gaara is our only friend, we will get the help you need". She told herself as she looked at Sasuke sleeping form.

As she walked towards Sunagakure , her mind drifted going on autopilot. Her thoughts of Konoha returning. Her thoughts couldn't help but return to her home ,to her clan, and her future.

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	6. Chapter 6

_**Journey to Suna**_

Sweat dripped down her eyebrows making her squint ever so often. Her mouth was dry, and the taste in her mouth was unpleasant. Her mind constantly reminded her of the water bottle she had in her backpack. All of her will power was used to enable her to resist the urge to drink it now. She had to reach the halfway point before she could waste her only source of water. Her swollen feet had gone numb two hours into the great seemingly endless desert. She walked across the sand close to five hours before she saw the sky change . She couldn't offer Sasuke much confort on the rickshaw she had made.

Blankets would have made the heat even more unbearable. Sasuke remained in a state close to that of a coma, his chakra points remained cut off to keep him from bleeding out. It saved his life she had no doubt, but he was running on borrowed time, only a doctor could patch him up and an expert in seals could remove that curse seal from him. She tried not to think of anything she couldn't fix at the moment. Which left her with little to think about. She had only two sights to see in the desert. Above her a sky with a perfect blue color , the golden sand at her feet. She watched her steps slowly fade away in the endless sand. When she reached the halfway point, the sun had just begun to set, the sky was painted red, with streaks of orange and light yellow. Sasuke consistent shallow breathing was her only company.

She laid out her sleeping bag on the soft golden sand. She pulled her water bottle from her backpack and split it with Sasuke. She wanted more but would live with what she took as would Sasuke. Hinata placed sasuke on her sleeping bag. Using the last of her strength, she could no longer go on. She collapsed onto the sand, her body so exhausted it couldn't go on. Her eyes fell shut and for a brief moment all she heard was Sasuke slow breathing. Several hours later when the full moon was at the center of the sky did she awaken from an empty dreamless sleep. Her eyes shot open, she felt suddenly deathly cold. All the heat in the entire desert was gone, and it was colder than she had prepared herself to be. She had wanted to go a far different land, far less harsh but fate had its way of doing things.

She sat up , her legs felt in between rested and exhausted as did most of her body , she began imaging a sweet warm campfire to warm her bones. She winced as she moved her legs into a sitting position. Her feet felt swollen and it hurt to move it. She reached for the rickshaw which held her backpack but she stopped herself. The thought of her or him being tracked stopped her to be exact. "The sand would cover our tracks but a fire would reveal us to anyone close by". She said out loud to herself. Her eyes turned to Sasuke , his body was shaking and his breathing slowed. Two swollen feet pressed down onto the sand, she raised herself up. Her eyes looked at everything she had. The fire would be seen for miles, especially with such a barren landscape. "Fire will attract unwanted eyes , doing nothing will kill Sasuke or both of us, the rickshaw…" She thought to herself. She touched the rickshaw with her right hand, ran her fingers over it feeling its texture and strength. "Maybe over Sasuke it could provide protection, it wouldn't add heat to Sasuke but it would trap some of it". She thought to herself as she switched from looking at the rickshaw to Sasuke sleeping form. Even sleeping Sasuke looked very attractive, she acknowledged to herself. She noticed his ebony hair and he had a good facial structure that made him a handsome man, his ebony hair with well sculpted face was easy on the eyes. But that didn't even register in her books, she wanted a man with golden locks, eyes the color of the sea , with a smile that made her blushed so red she looked like a tomato every time she saw it.

"Naruto, i will save Sasuke for you, then i will …..". She made a pledge to herself. "I wish you were here" She thought a bit teary eyed. A deep breath exhaled from her lungs, and then a long breath was inhaled. She lifted her backpack and placed it on her back. She flipped the rickshaw over and it created an arc, she could now place something under it. She then dragged Sasuke towards the rickshaw but as she was about to reach it she paused. And lowered her eyes to the sand then shifted it to Sasuke. "Do you have enough body heat on your own?" She questioned Sasuke in her head. She scratched the back of her neck nervously.

Sasuke body was shaking as was hers form the deserts deep cold. Sasuke was worse off than her, he needed to stay extra warm as his body probably wasn't producing as much heat with almost all his chakra points being disabled. "If he isn't extra warm tonight he will die there was no way around that." She reasoned to herself. She knelt down next to him and placed him inside the sleeping bag, no longer over it. She looked at his face and exhaled , she ran her finger through her hair. Clumps of sand fell out of her hair as her fingers slid through them. Her eyes looked around and found nothing that could help them. Fire might save them from hyperthermia but it could lead a fight to them. She knew what was in her backpack and there was nothing that could keep them both warm. She bit her lip as a memory of her past with her father return to her. Of her sparring sessions, of her battles lost, the weight of knowing she wasn't strong like Neji or her father.

Her lip began to shake , her eyes began to water , and her hands began to form fists. She pummeled the sand next to Sasuke, tears ran down her face and then her heart began beating like a drum. "I can't do it, I can't save you , I can't lead my clan, I am failure , I am NOTHING!" She screamed out loud. Her body slumped down and her head rested on Sasuke chest. Her blue velvet hair touched the golden sand once again, she didn't care it didn't matter. It was over, she would die alone. Her ear pressed down on Sasuke chest. A steady beat reminded her that he was still alive. "Naruto i love you, but i can't save Sasuke". She whispered to herself. A soft cough left her lips. "I will die in the cold too". She told herself as she lifted her head off Sasuke' chest. Her left hand pressed down on the sand about to lift her up, while her right hand accidentally landed on Sasuke's chest. She brought her right hand back and closed her fingers into a soft fist. "Warm" She thought to herself. She released her fist and felt her fingers. The rest of her body was getting colder by the second but her fingers felt warmer than the rest of her for a moment before cooling off.

Her eyes widened and then her heart began to beat faster and faster. "I am sorry Sasuke but , i will have invade your personal space to save us". She told Sasuke sleeping form. The idea ignited the fire in her, the will to survive reborn. She wiped her tears away with her right hand. She pulled her sleeping back along with sasuke who was inside it already closer to the rickshaw. She placed her backpack close to the sleeping bag. She pulled the rickshaw over , until its was touching the edge of the sleeping bag. She lifted the rickshaw up and then placed it over sasuke, it created an arch with Sasuke directly under it. She got on her knees and crawled towards Sasuke, she was small enough to fit in the space with Sasuke pressed at one end and herself touching the other other end of the rickshaw. When she was about to slide herself into the space the situation hit her. A fire in her suddenly ignited, her face felt hot and began to shake. "I was about to slip into a sleeping bag with Sasuke". She mumbled out. "What was i thinking!" She asked herself. "Naruto is the only one i would want to do that with" She thought as she felt blood rushing to her ears. "Not Sasuke Naruto, i don't want" She argued with inner self.

A cough left Sasuke's lips. It was weak and it was clear the cough had been weak because Sasuke was in a weak state growing weaker. Hinata eyes looked onto Sasuke' sleeping form. "What am i doing, i need to save you". She told herself firmly. She cleaned her hands and remove as much dirt as she could from her hair before placing it a bun using a hair pin. "Your asleep so it doesn't count, Naruto will still be my first". She told herself internally. "This will be our little secret, no one would believe me anyways". She realized just then. "Sasuke sharing a sleeping bag with a girl" She giggled then as memories of him rejecting his fangirl army returned just then. She crawled over Sasuke trying her best not to squish him before opening the sleeping bag and slipping in. Once they were both inside it occurred to her she hadn't thought out what she would need to do. Her face turned bright red and her ears burned as soon as she smelled his scent. She had never been this close to a guy before.

Hinata pushed herself closer to Sasuke trying to avoid thinking all together, her back was now against his chest. She didn't want to overload herself with thoughts now. She wrapped his arms around her. She felt light headed at the thought of where she could put his arms without her fainting from embarrassment. She pulled his arms upward , they lightly touched her breasts. A sudden shiver ran down her spine. Her face grew much hotter, she quickly move it downward towards her hips away from the danger zone. This also made her feel a little too much of this unknown feeling in her she had never experienced before.

"I cant its too much" She thought as ears burned, she quickly put them at the center. She could feel the cold touching her legs, and knew he would be worst off as he was taller. She let go of his hands and lightly grabbed his pants legs, a gentle pull bringing them up. As sasuke's legs were brought closer to her, she felt something pressed up against her butt. "I should have checked his pockets for tools, kunai , or objects he had". She thought to herself as she felt herself almost being poked by it, she just ignore it and closed her eyes. She began to wonder what it might be as it seemed warmed than any other part of Sasuke. It was the definitely the warmest part of his body. "A flashlight" She concluded. "That explains it being so warm". She thought to herself.

Sasuke breathing began to become an issue for her , it wasn't hot or bad smelling it was an entirely different feeling that concerned her. She began to move a little, she felt uneasy as soft air brushed her neck. It didn't feel bad, it was almost …..good, she had a hard time thinking of what it made her feel. She tried to sleep but his breathing was starting to affect her ability to calm herself to sleep. She moved herself lower to avoid his warm breath but that flashlight she had pressed against her only seemed to become more present. Before it was minor, she hadn't even known it was there, but it's as if the longer they had been together in the sleeping the bag the more it became a larger annoyance.

She decided she could not sleep until she dealt with the flashlight. The "Flash light was poking her butt still so she moved side to side slowly trying to find a way to move it to its side so it didn't poke her. But the flashlight remained firmly pressed against her butt. She was sure it was in Sasuke's pants so she couldn't move it from the outside but she had to try. She continued in vain to move the flashlight away from her, she tried shaking her hips in quick motions so to shake it away. It didn't work, so she tried slow twists with hips providing a slight push away from her butt .It then occurred to her that Maybe she could press it against her and move it that way, slide her hips one way and then return to the center. She made contact but it didn't seem to detach from the location it was in, She had to move the flashlight away from her butt by moving it from pocket it was in.

Her right hand pressed down on Sasuke stomach, from there she moved her hand downward aiming for his right pocket. Her hand slipped into it and found paper like materials. She pulled it out and threw it out, and then again found her way back into his right pocket . She searched but didn't find what she was looking for. She exhaled a breath of annoyance as the flashlight had been grinding on her butt and it wasn't soft against it. "The other pocket" She thought to herself. She pulled her right hand back and then moved her left hand to try and find his left pocket. A soft grunt left Sasuke's lips. "He is in pain, i need to get to Suna as soon as possible, he needs to see a doctor". She thought to herself.

Suddenly she realized she was not being poked. Her eyebrows furrowed."Its gone, i must have knocked it away with my butt". She wondered out loud her face felt all her blood return to it as she heard herself say it outloud. "I am glad you didn't hear that". She thought happily to herself. She moved herself closer to Sasuke to try to keep them as warm as possible, his breath no longer hitting her neck and his flashlight no longer poking her butt she could finally sleep. She closed her eyes and began feel the sweet release of sleep taking her.

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	7. Chapter 7

The morning before her escape from Konoha 

The sound of steps awoke Hinata, the steps were rapid and spread apart showing multiple people moving. She let out an almost whimper from her ruby lips when she awoke, her body was soggy and her muscles were tired from a hard day of training. Her ears perked up at the sounds of multiple steps being taken somewhere down the hallway from her room. Each step was firm and held no mystery within them, they were the steps of guards. "Morning Drills" She thought to herself. She pulled up the covers towards her face trying to slip back into her dreams, but just as it was about to cover her face she heard it once again firmly denying her request to return to the world of dreams.

Her eyes had still remained firmly shut as she didn't want to tempt fate and open them and then be stuck awake unable to return to sleep. Her weary and tired mind pulled something to the front of her thoughts, unscheduled drills. She shook her head but did not open her eyes trying her best not to open them and see the morning light and be forced to start her day. She wished internally for five more delicious minutes to return to a dream and hopefully that dream would be with her Naruto. Her hands clamped up and she balled them into a fist. She could not deny it , the thought of unscheduled drilling rang in her head and she knew it was impossible to ignore.

She was a hyuga after all, not noticing the inconsistency would be an insult to her upbringing. The Hyuga were so methodical and organized the slight oddity was very noteworthy. Her mind began to ask a single question. "Why are they drilling?" She furrowed her eyebrows as she contemplated the question. Their feet moved with an coordinated effort, telling her it was important and she needed to get up in that moment.

They didn't even try to be quiet or maybe they couldn't with so many feet walking across their wooden floor. The thought of her father annoyed face looking at her trying to peer into her mind burned in her mind. "He is testing me to see if i would notice such a simple childish easy test". She bite her lip annoyed she didn't pick up on it instantly.

Her long ebony colored hair with just the kiss of midnight blue firmly planted itself in the way of her lavender eyes. As she opened her eyes she was met with darkness, She moved strands of hair from one side to the other. But she was taken aback when she found the room was firmly held in shadow. It was too dark to be early morning.

Her head moved to her left side and her eyes looked at her window trying to see how early it moon firmly held above in the sky, it was cloudless and yet it showed no signs of a sun about to rise. "It's not dawn and it's certainly past midnight". She told herself. The sight of the moon stroke her as beyond odd, she couldn't think of a time her father had allowed so many guests or even guards to be at the manor past seven. Everything had always been perfectly coordinated. Her heart began to race, this added up in all the wrong ways for her.

She sat up and cupped her hair in her hands and tried to bring order to her hair as it was a mess. She reached for her nightstand and found some hair pins and bands. The sounds of steps lessened but then it changed into muffled words. "Now they are trying to be as quiet as possible". She thought meanly to herself. Her face formed a pout as she internally still felt it could all be a misunderstanding. She turned her head towards her bedroom door, her mind just imagining someone about to knock on her door and ask her to join her father. But the knock never came and when the muffled talk ended she decided to get off the bed and do something about this mystery. The floor was ice cold, and her bare feet felt even more sensitive to it. She curled her toes and began walking to her closet.

Without thinking her feet moved silently towards her destination. Her hands firmly pressed themselves against the oak wood. The oak was hand crafted and molded into a one of a kind dresser for her, it had her clan symbol imprinted at the center. She ran her fingers over the symbol, it always felt good to feel the deeply etched wood carvings. As she was about to open it her eyes turned towards the door. There was silence, so many sounds just moments before now turned to empty silence. She felt her skin crawl and didn't like the feeling or this situation for a second. Her gut told her something was wrong.

She activated her Byakugan instinctively , her eyes found every Hyuga guard in the manor present in the building. "Reserve, day, night , and emergency guards at the same time?" She acknowledged to herself. Her eyebrow furrowed and her blood ran cold. Her hands pulled her dresser open as quickly as it could. She ran her fingers through the clothes without stopping for a moment. She grabbed the exact armor she used during the fourth ninja war and dressed herself as quickly as her shaking hands could. Her hands formed fists. Her eyes scanned each guard position and found herself confirming what her gut had known all along... this was a standard formation for military invasion. They were using their full clan might to guard her. Entrenching themselves in the best position to hold off an attack. With her Byakugan she saw her window and the outside edges of the manor were guarded by the Hyuga clan.

She wanted answers but knew if she used the window her entire clan would fall down on her like a lightning bolt and restrain her for her "Safety". She walked as silently towards her bedroom door as she could. She opened it with the upmost care making sure even if it was mind numbingly slow it had no chance of alerting the guards of it being open with a loud squeak. The hallway was clear of guards as her byakugan had told her. "A single sound" She thought bitterly to herself as she knew the consequences of making a small noise.

Every hyuga guard only needed to be given a small insignificant sound so that they would be warranted to use their byakugan. That sight was so difficult to avoid by itself it was almost a lost cause. She bit her lip when her mind added together the chances of being spotted. And when one guard activated their byakugan another would do so just to be sure, one activated Byakugan was a domino effect that led to being caught. She reasoned to herself.

She closed her door firmly before moving on using as much grace and speed was allowed to her. Only her father would have the information she wanted, she slipped past each guard in her way to her father's office. There had been five guards, and she knew them personally and more importantly she made sure not to give them a reason to be on guard. Each step was perfectly silent, and with complete knowledge of her homes layout helped her along with her activated byakugan. So deep in the Hyuga manor were they it was the one area she was sure the guards held back a little because of how unlikely an intruder was. Once she was inside she found it in absolute darkness, her byakugan allowed her to see perfectly but finding the office in this condition was problematic.

"Fifteen file cabinets, 1 large desk with four compartments, 1 large walk in closet, and a safe". She counted all the places that she could search for clues. She inhaled a large breath before exhaling. "The closet" She firmly told herself. Her hands opened the closet slowly doing her best not to use too much strength as to slam it open but also avoiding wasting critical time. "Empty?" She thought to herself. She couldn't look inside before because the closet door was made of something that was too dense a material to see inside before... but finding it empty was heart wrenching for her. She instantly felt like a failure, as if she was the dumbest possible child anyone could have had, she felt a gut punch in her stomach."

She bit her lip and her eyes began to tear up. "I just wasted five minutes on a useless closet, this is my home how could i not have guessed right!". She wanted to punch a wall so hard in that heard a terrifying sound break her away from her internal fight with herself. Two guards were heading her way. She turned her body towards the sound. Her Byakugan still active, immediately recognized them as the Hokage and her father. Her hands began trembling and her legs buckled and she fell on her butt. "What will he say". She began to scream in her head. Her eyes unleashed the dam holding back the ocean of tears. Her lower lip began to quiver at the thought of her father finding her in his closet hiding like a five year old child. Her eyes turned slightly towards her room, as she wished she could teleport herself inside and avoid being scolded by her father for snooping in his office. Her head snapped back as she saw the three guards now in her hallway preventing her from sneaking into her room. "Its over". She sulked as she accepted her fate.

The sound of steps approaching her was now deafening, it was going to happen. Her right hand suddenly jerked forward and grabbed the closet door. Her heart raced and her head could not think only act. She closed the closet door firmly and then crashed onto the floor inside the closet before inhaling and exhaling loudly. She caught herself doing so after three breaths and her heart just began to beat like a drum. "Did they hear me?" She asked herself. Her lip quivered.

"Anything but those eyes" She thought to herself as her mind remembered his lectures, his disappointed eyes, his soul crushing words and his uncaring stare . Her knuckles grew white and she formed two fists as she began to hear their voices. "I want to see an investment before we begin the process". The Sixth Hokage stated in a very low tone. "We can make an investment if you like, but we would like a smaller contract to be signed first". Hiashi stated in a business tone. Their voices were just close enough so that her fate was now sealed.

The door opened first, very loudly and then firmly shut. Instantly the lights turned on and immediately her heart fell to the floor. There was a hole in the closet door, it was low at the ankles if one were standing up trying to open the door normally. She moved herself as far away from the hole which was bringing in all the light from the office. "So stupid, why didn't i see it earlier". She asked herself. Her thoughts were interrupted as the sound of chairs being dragged back filled the room. A moment later they began talking again. "I know what you need and you know what i want... Now you can pretend you have more to offer or we can signs these contracts promptly and we can move from this impasse we are stuck in". Hiashi stated in a crude tone. She deactivated her Byakugan no longer needing it, the light revealed everything in both the closet and office. She couldn't see their faces but knew they were sitting down face to face.

"I thought i was invited to see if there was a contract worth my time, but if that isn't the case and you are only going to play hard ball, then i got things to do that are worth my time". Kakashi replied. Kakashi voice was cool and relaxed but it was met by a silent reply. She had seen it done a thousand times and without needing to see her father's face already could imagine the cold eyes staring back at Kakashi. Those eyes which could disarm cold blooded killers as much as they could win over seasoned politicians. "You and i both know how much this village needs my clans money to rebuild, you can't out bluff me". Hiashi replied in a no nonsense tone.

An exhale from kakashi was his response, but it was clear to hinata he was not intimidated. "You don't think the other two noble clans would want a more influential position in Konoha if given the chance". Kakashi retorted. Hiashi inhaled sharply a breath of air through his nose. "I doubt they have the vision or desire to expand". Hiashi responded his voice holding his signature business tone. "Well even if that's the case i can bet that you are on borrowed time with a deadline , while Konoha in time will return to its full strength with or without your aid". Kakashi responded in a bored tone. Hiashi exhaled. "How do you figure that?" Hiashi replied in a very cold tone. She could feel her father's eyes trying to burn into Kakashi face but she could hear it in their tones Kakashi was playing the long game.

A chuckle emerged from Kakashi , it was almost a high pitched laugh. "You approached me with the deal, your clan almost is exclusively reactive and not proactive in businesses". Kakashi said with a tone used for stating facts. "It's hard to be proactive when your so wealthy everyone else asks you for money, and all you have to do is collect interest". Hiashi replied casually. "My point being you approached us suddenly, that isn't your way of doing things". Kakashi replied with a clear calculating tone. "Fine then if you don't want to do a contract we have nothing to discuss". Hiashi replied firmly. One seat began to move and it was clear to her that her father was getting up. "What did you find in Orochimaru's lab?"

Kakashi asked with a soft tone. The sound of Hiashi sitting down was heard next in the room. Then it was silent for a moment as Hiashi gathered his thoughts. "I know you sent a large amount of your clan members to investigate the last known Lab Orochimaru had , and last week they returned". Kakashi pressed on. "That is a Hyuga clan affair and none of your concern". Hiashi said in a very stern tone. "Whatever you found there has either rattled you or has gotten you in the mood to expand your clan in both cases you have one choice". Kakashi replied with a factual tone. Hiashi snorted as if insulted. "A single choice, our clan always has a hand full of choices and the rest of the world has just the one". Hiashi clarified the situation for Kakashi.

"I am not opposed to your clan having a greater political role in Konoha but i just want you to know if it destabilizes Konoha i will bring it to an end". Kakashi voice was deadly serious. "This is our village as well as yours, our clans actions will bring stability it has not known in decades". Hiashi replied in a calm tone. "Half" Kakashi replied in a cool tone. "We agreed to 30 percent upfront" Hiashi replied firmly. "That was before we established i know you are holding some kind of military secrets from your finds in Orochimaru's lab". Kakashi replied. The sound of teeth being crushed together could be heard in a now silent room. "40 percent upfront". Hiashi replied in a frustrated tone. "50 percent and i will name the Hyuga the official police force of Konoha tomorrow". Kakashi replied in a no nonsense tone. "Deal" Hiashi replied.

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	8. Chapter 8

_**The Morning before Her escape from Konoha part 2**_

Hinata tried her best to calm her nerves. Each breath she took was slow and short , it was her attempt to avoid being heard. She was trapped inside her father's office . She tried to think of a reason why her father would want the Hyuga to take control of the police force. They were wealthy , so it wasn't because of money. It was all in vain as nothing made sense to her she was drawing blanks in her head.

It was difficult to be sure she was being silent when all she could hear was her heart beat. The sound of her heart beating in her ears was driving her crazy. Her hands were shaking and clammy cold. It didn't take long for Kakashi to leave, after a few scribbles of what she was sure was paper he stood up. "Discretion of the utmost". Hiashi stated as he too rose to his feet. A sudden silence made her heart drop. "Of course" Kakashi said in a all too brief statement. The sound of the door opening and then closing was heard in quick succession.

After a few seconds of silence more passed she began to wonder whether it was safe or not. If the lights turned off it would have meant they left, but it was still on because she could see the light still coming through the hole in the door. She reasoned with herself that her father could still be there. She formed the seals she needed to activate her byakugan but was interrupted by the closet door suddenly opening. Hinata eyes widened as wide as they could. Her father stared at her for a few moments before she was free of the shock.

An uncaring expression firmly stationed on his face as she looked at his face. "How long did you plan on staying in there?" Hiashi asked in a annoyed tone. Hinata got up onto her feet. "I was planning on leaving as soon as i could". She replied honestly. Hiashi moved to one side to give her room to move and motion she enter the office. Hinata compiled and entered the office once again. This time it was lit and not engulfed in darkness. It was far more interesting with the lights on than it was in the dark.

"You wanted to wait until you were sure i was gone…...so you could sneak back into your room undetected you mean". Hiashi clarified. Hinata nodded only. "Either you are more cunning than you let on….or my guards made far too much noise and awakened you". Hiashi stated. Hinata turned her eyes to the floor. "I knew it, as a father i couldn't help but hope you had been ambitious enough to be proactive instead of reactive". Hiashi said in a bored tone.

"Before you ask , everything the Hokage stated was factual and accurate". Hiashi said as bluntly as possible. Hinata only nodded before her eyes began to itch needing to look around. Hiashi motioned her to do so. Hinata looked around the room, each wall was covered in wallpaper. What wasn't covered with layers of paper was hidden behind covers. The room felt larger than it did when she saw it in the dark. The floor was tiled and the desk was larger than she expected but the rest was exactly what her Byakugan had informed her. "Why do you want the Hyuga clan to become the police force of Konoha?" Hinata asked openly.

Hiashi exhaled a breath . His shoulders dropped and his face formed an annoyed look. "I shouldn't have asked father…... forgive me please". Hinata quickly blurted out. Hiashi raised his hand stopping her in her tracks. "I am annoyed at the fact it has come to this, not at your question". Hiashi clarified. Hinata looked at her father unsure what to expect from him now. "How long did you know i was here?" Hinata asked quickly. "The moment we entered the room". Hiashi replied. She took a step back, and then turned her face away from her father ashamed at how easily she was spotted. "His sharingan spotted you, not my eyes i was not expecting anyone to be in my personal office, and to dare spy on me was beyond foolish". Hiashi voice began to rise. Hinata recoiled as his voice began to rise she turned her face towards him surprised at the revelation.

"To answer your earlier question before i lose all reason, The Hyuga clan is the only one who can take that position and hold it so it falls upon our shoulders to do so!". Hiashi stated in a factual tone. "The last clan to hold that position …. were hated and not just hated loathed with such passion it led to their deaths i was told …..are you really okay with that becoming our fate?" Hinata asked sheepishly. Hiashi gave her a fierce condemning look. "You care too much about the opinion of lesser folk and especially of that of clans that our beneath our own!" Hiashi said in a loud tone. "The Uchiha clan were the last to hold that position, and everyone hated them because of it". Hinata admitted her fear.

" Only a weak leader cares about the love or hate others have for him and his people". Hiashi stated in a disappointed tone. Hinata look down at the floor wishing she could become as small as a ant and escape through the cracks. "Twenty years from now , with Hyuga as the police force we will grow more rooted in the foundations of this village and thrive because of it". Hiashi clarified his point. "We are already wealthy" Hinata said in a low tone. "Better to be slightly more wealthy than to stay at the same place , nothing good can come from stagnation, and stagnation is the clear result on not moving forward and evolving ….never forget that!". Hiashi replied.

"It wasn't that long ago i had given up on you". Hiashi stated in a cool voice. She felt her heart drop the moment he reminded her of the failure she had been. His eyes stared at her peering into her eyes. A singular emotion in them it reminded her of a uncaring, and unmoved statue looking back at her . She couldn't help it , her eyes began to flood with tears. Looking up at her father's face she found it didn't even show a for a small moment a hint of love for her. His hand found the edges of her face, and he raised it upward so it could not look away.

Her arms shaked feeling helpless now the feeling transferred to her legs which turned to jelly. Her face turned pale white as she felt her blood leave her face. "You have progressed far more than i could have anticipated, there is no question in that". Hiashi continued on in a cold tone. Hinata's heart began to beat again returning life to her. The semblance of color returned to her face. Her hand moved towards her fathers , aiming to touch it and hold it in hers. As it moved closer her father pressed on with his words. "You are no longer the failure you were once, but…." Hiashi tone shifted now towards a formal tone.

Hinata's hand stopped in its place just before it could touch her father's hand. Her tears stopped and her eyes burned , she wiped a tear aside. "But as head of this clan i fear for its existence once i am dust and bones, so i have used every resource i had to fix our problem". Hiashi explained. Hinata stood up straight as firmly as she could and attempted her best to look strong. Hiashi released her once she began to stand up again in strong stance. "Our problem?" Hinata asked. She bit her lip as the words left her lips. There was no question in her mind what he would say. Hiashi raised an eyebrow. As if to asking if at this point in her life she had not come to the conclusion everyone else knew.

The sound of a low chuckle left his throat. "You are the Hyuga greatest problem…. the heiress who doesn't have the strength to lead and must still look for it ….. a future leader who will lead us to ruin….In what manner do you want me to phrase it so you understand it properly?". Hiashi boldly stated with an arrogant tone. Hinata balled her fists as it was the only thing she could do. She felt anger in herself rise , it soon turned to a ball of emotion which made her stomach turn over and over inside her. Her hands squeezing so tight that they began to turn white. Her father walked closer to her, he made sure to talk slow steps to give her time to come back to the moment. He knew his daughter so well by now it was like clockwerk in his mind. He towered over her once they were face to face. A foot away from her now. He made sure to stand firmly as tall as possible. Hiashi's eyes stared into hers, her eyes flickered. They tried their best to not look away, to not show weakness but they couldn't. she looked away ashamed at her weakness. Refusing to let up he followed her eyes and when she tried to look away he placed to firm hands over her balled fists.

"Look at me" Hiashi said in a low tone. Hinata shook her head without thinking. It was all reactionary at this point. She was a bottle of pure emotions unable to really think. Her legs began shaking. "Look at me". Hiashi repeated a little more firmly this time. Hinata eyes looked up to his. "Do you deny that you are a problem for our clan?" Hiashi asked in a serious tone. Hinata felt her face turn white. "I asked you a question, don't make me repeat myself". Hiashi voice was low and sharp. "I am…...the problem….I tried.." Hinata tried to speak up but her voice was caught in her throat.

"The Hyuga do not try , we set a goal and accomplish it with minimal effort there is no try with us…...we Hyuga do not suffer fools and we do not suffer weak sheep". Hiashi used a clear tone. He released her hands and took several steps back from her. Hinata nodded. Hiashi turned from her giving her his back. Hinata fell to her knees and tears renewed on her face. Each hot tear burning her face. Her balled fists opened and her wet clammy hands relaxed. "If our clans leadership is weak, then in battles with enemies of equal force we would most likely lose". Hiashi spoke loudly as his back remained planted in front of Hinata. "I will leave you a Hyuga clan so strong , even you will not be able to run it into the ground ….And maybe in time its strength will turn you into a decent leader that is the most i can hope for". Hiashi said in a neutral tone.

"It will take years to increase the population of the Hyuga and you have ten years at the most". Hinata blurted out. She sat down onto the tiled floor, her body felt heavy in that moment. Her fingers dug into the ground , she wanted to leave but knew she couldn't. She was restless and her hands began to dig down into the tiled floor. Hiashi back stiffened at her words. He turned towards her almost immediately. His eyes seemed alive and awake now, no longer a cold stare. "You aren't as spineless as i thought , you already know, when you would take the reins of power from me" Hiashi voice held something she didn't recognise.

"You have been planning my retirement, i see". Hiashi eyes held a look of surprise with a mixture of an emotion she had never seen him give her . "I was planning on doing this project on my own for the next three years before slowly incorporating you into it but…." Hiashi voice was lighter now. Hinata wiped tears from her face. Hiashi stepped over to the wall left of Hinata, his hands ripped down the covers he had placed there. " You have earned this". Hiashi said with a light tone. Hinata eyes widened before she gasped for air. It took her a minute to realise she had stopped breathing in fresh air, and her lungs had begun to burn from lack of air. She took in several breaths of air.

Hiashi didn't move or say a word , all he did was watch her. She could feel his eyes on her, but at that moment all she could do was think a singular thought. "This will be your legacy my child" Hiashi stated bluntly. Hinata turned her face to meet his eyes. "My child". She thought to herself as she bit her lip. "You are not familiar with the seal?" Hiashi asked his words holding concern. Hinata back stiffened before she released her internal words. "It's the Hyuga symbol we brand our lower branches with, you found a variation of it in orochimaru labs, were we compromised?" Hinata replied slowly.

She was dumbfounded at what her father found. Hiashi raised an eyebrow surprised at her words. "No of course not my child". Hiashi words were soft again. "He has never called me his child, he always refused to acknowledge i was his because he was ashamed but now he has done so twice". Hinata thought to herself. She felt her heart race as she felt pride in her well up inside.

"You are not completely devoid of reason, i am surprised and grateful for this revelation". Hiashi replied his stern face seeming to soften. Hiashi cleared his throat. "The seal was created by the elders and myself to inflict the curse seal on ordinary folk or ninja". Hiashi clarified. "Orochimaru didn't make a seal specifically to counter us, you modify a curse seal he normally uses on people he wants to empower". Hinata stated to herself mostly but she her words left he lips while she had been looking at her father.

Hiashi nodded his approval. A slight smirk formed on the edges of his lips. "Good …...you have good reasoning skills and awareness of foreign sealing techniques shows much promise, that very seal will help us indoctrinate and recruit" Hiashi continued on. "Orochimaru seal gave those who survived terrible power and a mutated form" Hinata blurted out without thinking.

"So you are familiar with Orochimaru designs, our seal will grant others the Byakugan only and not any mutated forms". Hiashi corrected her. Hinata face dropped. "You are going to enslave everyone you can, to bolster our numbers". Hinata thought to herself. Hiashi watched as Hinata pieced it together. "I will give the less gifted or those cursed with no power a gift beyond what they deserved in exchange for service to us". Hiashi said with a hint of pride. "The seal will bind them in the same way the lower branches of our clan our bound to us". Hinata said slowly. Hiashi nodded before a smirk formed on his face. A look of approval was given to Hinata. Hinata turned to the wall again pretending to look at the seal. "You did all of this to protect the clan from me?" Hinata whispered. "Each new clan member will be another person guarding you, i did it for you". Hiashi said in a clear voice.

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	9. Chapter 9

_**A battle to survive**_

Hinata's eyes opened to a smoldering sunny desert. Her eyes snapped back and she squeezed them shut. It was far too bright for her , it took her seconds to blink away to distorted vision that had formed from opening her eyes inside a sunny desert. she was still in the shadow of the rickshaw benefiting for the slightly cooler temperature. Even with being in the shadow of the rickshaw it was very hot. She could feel the sweat dripping down her face. Her clothes were pressed into her body. Her baggy clothing looked far closer to form fitting because of how the sweat had fused them to her body. The sleeping bag was now steamy compared to hours earlier in the night when it had felt like a soft warm hug. And now it felt like an oven slowly cooking her. Hinata wiggled her body a bit testing out how close the clothes had been to her body. She realised it was time for her to get up before she was cooked from the heat.

It was clearly daytime but she couldn't guess what time it was. The sun was merciless and did not hold back its force. She remembered she had dreamt, and that it had felt like an eternity in that dream. She had dreamt a single long dream inside a terribly deep slumber and that had made her feel exhausted. It was closer to a nightmare rather than a dream to her. Her body was warm, wrapped tightly by her sleeping bag furthering the feeling of being cooked. She smiled and was so very grateful she had not died due to hyperthermia in the desert at night. All to aware if she didn't get up she might die of the reverse effect. Sasuke arms still hugged her waist, as she moved around to adjust herself she remembered him. His arms around her body felt closer, the closer her clothes had been pressed to her body the more Sasuke arms felt the closer.

Hinata face turned slightly pink when she realized how it felt as if Sasuke arms were touching her bare skin as they were wrapped around her waist. Before her eyes had shut and her sleep had taken her into a dream, she had to admit his arms around her waist did feel good and not terrible. She moved her hands to meet Sasuke's arms and she moved them aside. She felt her face get a little warmer for a different reason than the desert sun. She felt her body ache from being exhausted the day before. She turned around to look at Sasuke, she was very close to him, but even so close she felt calm as he was still in a deep sleep state. She grew worried as his condition cold only worsen without the help of a medic.

Seeing him like this reminded her of what she had to do. She found the energy to press on, she had gone so far and would not fail now. She remembered the vivid image of her dream, of her father's office. Remembering her father she balled up her hands into fists and willed herself not to shed a single tear. She could feel her dream slipping away from her as time passed. The more she tried to remember in detail that foul dream the harder it became until it was gone. She opened the sleeping bag and got out, the light was even brighter outside the Rickshaw shadow. She cracked her neck, arms , and fingers while closing her eyes. It was difficult to open them with the intense light. She kneeled down onto the sand but quickly got up. The sand was incredibly hot, and it was impossible to push down on it without burning up.

She decided to lift up the Rickshaw so she could start her journey again, she lifted it up using the part of the rickshaw not casted in sunlight as a base. She flipped it over successfully without accidently sending it over. Sasuke was now in the sunlight inside a deeply heated Sleeping bag. Hinata didn't waste time and positioned Sasuke's arm over her shoulder as she didn't have the strength to carry him outright especially in her weakened state. She then gently dragged him towards the rickshaw. It was a short distance but his legs still for a few moments were dragged against the hot sand. She didn't hear him wince in pain, but she imagined herself doing so. Once Sasuke was positioned on the rickshaw she placed the sleeping bag on him to cover him from the sun. She placed her backpack under Sasuke's head and prayed internally she would make it.

Hinata activated her Byakugan, she searched the desert and found the landmark she was looking for. She inhaled a sharp breath and shook her head side to side. Her legs and arms were gone , the fact they had not fallen off was a miracle to her. She couldn't feel either and thanked her blessing and she began pulling the Rickshaw towards Suna. Just as she was about to reach Sunagakure she was spotted by Scouts. They approached, each showing they were part of the village with their head bands. When they saw Hinata's Headband which had been positioned around her throat , they motioned for their leader. "I need to get to the village as soon as possible, my friend is dying!" Hinata said with near tears in her eyes. She was so happy to see another person she nearly began shaking from happiness.

A knock was heard on the door. Temari turned her head from the window towards it, surprised to say the least. At that very moment she had been in the middle of a daydream which had snuck up on her during her, extremely exciting patrol shift. . She had been standing watch inside a guard tower, and was in the middle of her five hour shift. Kankuro placed a hand on her shoulder. "Its okay i can take care of this, and you can go back to our very important patrol / guard duties". Kankuro said with a sly smile. Temari knocked his hand aside. "No you don't , if anyone gets to escape this , it's going to be me!" Temari told her brother as she pointed at herself. Another set of knocks started, this only made Temari want to run to the door even more. As she was about to open the door her brother made a last ditch effort to escape himself. Temari's eye caught his sudden movement and she quickly placed a hand on Kankuro and pushed him back onto the floor. "Not today!" Temari said loudly as she opened the door.

The door opened to a scout waiting there. The scout hearing her words slowly turned to leave but was stopped. Temari grabbed his vest preventing him from leaving. "Did you prank me or are you afraid of me?" Temari asked in a annoyed tone. Temari eyes released an aura of anger and fury tame but lethal. They had just teased her with the hope of escaping, she just knew it in her bones that's why the scout went silent at the sight of her. "My team found a ninja from konohagakure on our borders, trying to enter the village". The scout blurted out in a frantic tone. Temari raised an eyebrow . She pushed the scout back to give her some space before taking a step outside the room and closing the door behind her. As she closed the door she heard her brother snicker, he had seen her get upset and knew they had wasted her time. "That isn't worth either myself or Kankuro time, but seeing as anything is better than guard duty , i will check it out". Temari told the scout. The scout bowed his head. Temari followed the scout towards what she suspected was a merchant using the alias of a Ninja from konohagakure to make some money.

Hinata placed the Rickshaw down. Sasuke slid a bit down but remained on the rickshaw and not over the sand. The scouts had been a group of five when Temari arrived with her guide. Hinata was sitting on on the Rickshaw as two scouts held it up. They had seen the condition of both outlanders and decided to give them a small kindness, allowing hinata a moment to sit and rest.. "So i take it your the stranger trying to cross into the village". Temari said in a booming voice as she neared hinata. As Temari approached only 10 feet away her voice reached her easily. Hinata got up onto her feet to meet the leader of the scouts. Temari stopped right in her tracks when she recognized hinata. There she stood in front of the heiress to the Hyuga clan only five feet away.

There was no mistaking her for anyone else, her eyes alone would have made her noteworthy. A hyuga in Sunagakure, gaara would want to know about this. She was glad they hadn't wasted her time, Kankuru would have wanted to see this as well she thought to herself. "Hinata Hyuga". Temari mumbled utterly shocked to see her. "Temari". Hinata said in a low voice just as equally surprised. Her throat was beyond dry, and talking actually hurt her at that point. Temari turned her head towards the nearest scout. Her hand shot out violently up and then pointed at the scout. "You….Give her a water bottle now" Temari shouted. The scout took a step back the moment she signaled him. Hinata was handed a bottle of water which she gratefully drank. Half way through the bottle she moved over to Sasuke. Her mind thought about how he couldn't ask for water. The two scout kept holding the rickshaw in place , helping sasuke not fall into the searing hot sand.

Temari had watched Hinata closely as she drank the water. Hinata looked near complete collapse, her legs had started shaking the moment she stood up again. She didn't even look to have notice this fact in herself. Temari also noticed she looked like a mess. From a distance she looked like a completely different person, her clothing was form fitting. She would have never guessed Hinata would have such a voluptuous figure, a perfect hourglass figure. It was this fact that made it clear to her why she didn't recognise her from afar immediately. In this state she was The complete opposite of what a normal Hyuga always looked, there was no cool collected form . She had known they were one of the noble clans of Konoha, but even for a noble clan they held themselves to a higher standard. But it was the fact she had stopped drinking water so that she could give it to another that really made her think. "Who are you giving water to?" Temari called out to Hinata after a moment.

Hinata froze unsure of what to reply. Her hands reached for her pockets, needing to place them inside. She felt the need to hide , embarrassed at what she had got herself in with Sasuke. Temari walked over casually taking her time. She had no rush and the look of Hinata's utter bewilderment was enough to let her know this was going to be interesting rather than dangerous. Temari had a bit of a internal war on the inside , on one hand she wanted to ask Hinata what she was doing there. Easily the most obvious thing she wanted to do, but any sensible person would have wanted to do that. She was the sensible one of her siblings but even she had times when she had a desire for unorthodox fun. The other half of her wanted to take a step back and watch it play out see what hinata would do. See what she could say to explain herself without being pressured. Hinata was clearly not one for improvising. She decided not to fight her urge and ask Hinata every question her mind wanted to know in that moment. That is when she neared the rickshaw. It was layered with a sleeping bag over a person and then as she looked at the hidden stranger.

Temari took a step back , as if seeing the dead rise suddenly she was taken aback by what she saw. The other scout seeing this also reacted in unison taking a step closer and leaning forward to see. The two holding up the Hackshaw didn't move but the others had moved closer. Temari hand shot up into the air in a close fist and she signaled they hold their position. Her eyes sharply looked at Hinata with a questioning look. Hinata gave her a worried look. "He needs medical attention". Temari said in a low voice. Hinata nodded her agreement. Temari then gave her a questioning look asking if she was sure she wanted to help him. "I did my best to reach Sunagakure as fast as i could to save his life, please help me". Hinata nearly begged. Temari nodded slowly fighting back the instinct to refuse. "You will take the cargo to the central hospital, keep a standard formation and make sure no one sees them". Temari directed the scouts.

Hinata quickly went from looking at each scout to just looking dumbfounded at Temari's stern face. Temari met her eyes they held a glint of amusement with a healthy amount of seriousness used by a disciplinary teacher. "Did you say THEM as in both us being smuggled in unseen inside that hackshaw?" Hinata asked in a frenzy of words and facial expressions varying from surprise, confused, mortified, and ending in embarrassed. Temari took steps closer until they stood face to face. She then lowered her head to make sure they had eye contact. "Your in no condition to walk anymore, so you have to be carried excluding the fact your a Hyuga heiress your boyfriend over there is Sasuke UCHIHA!" Temari spoke in a lowered voice while her tone was stern. She pointed at Sasuke as she tried to emphasize how famous his face was.

All hinata heard was Boyfriend and her blood started rushing to her face. Like a tomato her face turned bright red. Her face turned bright red beyond what was normal in people and she buckled and landed in the sand. Temari's eyes widen suprised at seeing Hinata turn from her normal skin tone to a tomato in a moment. For a moment she thought it was possible Hinata head would have exploded like a bomb. Temari caught her before she completely fell into the sand and raised her up. The scouts turned towards Hinata and Temari. Temari placed her in the Rickshaw. "For the record both of you are impossible to mistake, I don't know how you expected to enter the village with the former most wanted criminal in the world while you also being a Hyuga clan member". Temari said in a low voice to Hinata.

"Discrete and fast i will need to talk to my brothers, so help me if any harm comes to them or i hear they have been spotted you won't live past sunset". Temari said in a deadly tone. The scouts bowed their head and began nearly running with them. Temari watched the trail the rickshaw left behind as it was pushed towards the hospital. Temari found Kankuro in the same place she had left him.

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	10. Chapter 10

Sea of sand 

Her eyes fluttered open as the sound of an alarm clock in the distance rang. The sudden noise had scared her and her heart had began to beat like a drum. The sound was irritating and loud. After a moment of hearing it she knew what the sound was and her heart came back down to normal levels. She covered her face with her pillow to try reduce blaring sound in her ears. She winced as it kept ringing going through even the pillow, another thirty seconds passed before it was turned off. Once the ringing ended she opened her eyes once again only to find it bothered her. Her vision showed everything as a blur. Her face reacted by scrunching up. She squeezed her eyes shut to reduce the irritation her blurry vision gave her. After a moment she opened her eyes and looked around. She was on a bed, with a dark red colored bed sheets. The pillow she had used the night before and had used to cover her head against the alarm clock was purple. She sat up on the bed.

Her hands pressed down on the bed as she sat up , it was soft like a marshmallow. She sank in a bit as she applied pressure to sit up. This reminded her of the bed she had in her own room. As she put her feet onto the floor she noticed it was carpeted with a light brown carpet. She could see it feeling amazing against her bare skin as she walked across it. She was still wearing her socks so it was unlikely she would walk across it bare footed but she admired the choice. She imagined the mattress must have been memory foam by the way it reacted to her weight. It went down before ascending again when she lifted her hand from the bed . She looked around the room taking it all in. Her mind taking note of the colors. The room was at least 400 square feet, with the walls colored white with red and black rose petals. She could see the dresser was stationed across from the bed she was on. A few feet away was a desk with a common trash can. She spotted lipstick and makeup on the dresser along a line of perfumes. To the otherside of the dresser was a closet which was closed. The closet doors had been painted dark blue with a moon at the center, a few green and black leaves were painted around the moon. There was a set of ripples drawn in from the moon outward to make it appear as a reflection in a pond.

"Temari's room" Hinata thought to herself. Hinata stood up and looked around for her backpack and shoes. The first thing she noticed when she stood up was the scent of apples. Her room smelled like lavender it was a boring scent compared to this she thought to herself. She smiled as she recognized the scent as something she would have never guessed temari would use. She couldn't even imagine it as a top five choice for her, but then again she reasoned she didn't know her that well. She walked back to the bed she was on to smell it. She was a bit surprised when she found it had the distinctive smell of chocolate chip cookies. Now this scent she could imagine everyday waking up to or falling slowly asleep too. She could definitely see herself copying the aroma candles and spray she had used. She refocused herself and began searching the room with vigor for her belongings. She found them after a minute stationed at the door over a metal chair. The chair she presumed belonged to the desk she had seen earlier.

She brought the shoes and backpack to the bed and started putting her boots on. When she was done she placed the backpack on herself and opened the door. She found the room outside was twice the size of the bedroom. Temari was on the couch as she entered the room. "Hinata you're finally awake". Temari said a soft voice. Hinata smiled back at her. "Thank you for the help and hospitality, i won't forget the help you gave me during my greatest time of need". Hinata said in humble voice. Temari smiled back at Hinata. "How was your sleep, are you rested or do you still feel tired?" Temari questioned Hinata as she got up and walked towards her. "Best sleep i have had in years, i don't even feel sore or tired even a little". Hinata replied in a cheery voice. "Good to hear, what do you last remember?" Temari asked with a low tone. Hinata furrowed her eyebrows and tried to remember. "You can't really remember can you?" Temari stated in a neutral tone. Hinata looked down to the floor embarrassed.

Temari exhaled a breath and motion she sit down next to her on the couch. Temari sat down on the far end of the black couch she had in her living room. Hinata walked over and sat at the opposite end of the same couch Temari was on. "When the scouts found you , they sent out one of them to look for me". Temari began. Hinata nodded. "I remember that, i just don't remember past the part you found Sasuke". Hinata said in a calm tone. When Sasuke's name left her lips her eyes widened. The look of fear took over her face and she bawled her hands into fists. In that moment her heart began beating like a drum. Temari extended her hand and placed it over her shoulder. "Sasuke is alive, we transported you in that terribly crafted rickshaw you had with you to the hospital". Temari said in a calming voice. Hinata face seemed to melt, it went from fear gripped to a happy state. "We saved your boyfriend's life, not an easy task at all but that one is clearly a fighter". Temari emphasised the word boyfriend. Blood rushed to Hinata's face turning her pale complexion bright red until she was closer to a tomato than anything else. Temari watched in horror afraid Hinata would explode. "You okay?" Temari asked in a soft tone. "Sasuke is not my boyfriend!" Hinata said in a near screech.

"He is not?" Temari replied back just as suddenly as Hinata said he wasn't. Hinata shook her head. "Let me explain." Hinata said in frantic tone. Temari smiled and gestured with her hand to go ahead. "I found Sasuke injured near the border of Konoha and i had to help him get to a doctor". Hinata stated firmly. "At the edge of Konohagakure , yet instead of heading back to Konohagakure you chose to come here?" Temari replied not hiding her disbelief. "It's complicated, i barely know Sasuke we are not dating". Hinata protested. Her face a lighter shade of pink. "Okay well for a second there i thought you two were sleeping together and the heiress of the Hyuga clan was on the road to marriage". Temari bluntly stated as casually as she could. "Marriage" Hinata's face looked utterly shocked at what she heard. "No never". Hinata blurted out as her cheeks became a darker red. "Are you saying you never slept with Sasuke or that you two happen to be on the road to marriage?" Temari said in jest. Hinata looked away for a second. Temari eyebrows arched and then her face held an expression of shock. "So you two slept together or is that you are in an arranged marriage?" Temari tried to decipher which one. Hinata looked back into Temari eyes, her face returning to the tomato red it once was.

"I was joking before ….so which one is it?" Temari asked curiously. Hinata raised her hands in front of her. "Did you father arrange the marriage with Sasuke Uchiha and that is the reason you were spending time together?" Temari questioned her tone was light. Her face had turned from the stern woman the day before to an amused child like face , so happy to have a new toy. Hinata looked Temari in the eyes without flinching. "I found Sasuke injured at the border of Konoha that is it, no other contact other than when we were kids". Hinata said firmly. "I believe you, you look like the kind of person who couldn't tell a lie to save themselves". Temari replied honestly. Hinata exhaled a breath of air. She relaxed her shoulders which had gone stiff. "Now then did you sleep with him you know have a night in bed together". Temari said in amused tone. Temari smirked as she said it, no point in not enjoying hinata predicament for a moment longer before they had to go. Hinata turned her face to the side away from Temari. "You slept with Sasuke!" Temari nearly shouted. Hinata looked at the floor as her hands united together. "I don't believe it, i can't even". Temari said with a shocked tone. Temari hands went into the air. She covered her lips with her hand showing how shocked she was. "Wow" Temari smirked as she said it. A almost proud look formed in her eyes as she looked at HInata. "It was really cold , it was the only way to keep our bodies warm in the very cold desert" Hinata blurted out.

"In the desert too" Temari said with a grin. Hinata shook her head and tried her best to figure a way to end the conversation. "So how was it?" Temari said it with a large smile. Hinata looked at her unsure what she meant. "Did you enjoy it or was it all bad". Temari asked in her polite voice.

Hinata thought for a second. "You have to think about it?" Temari stated in a surprised tone. Hinata nodded. "So it was brief , guess i thought it wouldn't have been just five minutes". Temari said it with a bit of a soft laugh. Hinata shook her head. "No we were together all night". Hinata clarified. Temari grinned ear to ear now. She moved closer to Hinata.

"How big was it?" Temari said with a mischievous look. Hinata furrowed her eyebrows. "Did you sleep together at night or day?" Temari quickly questioned. Hinata looked a bit flushed as she heard her. "It was night time". Hinata replied. "Okay so you didn't see it, but as it poked you….you should have an idea its size right". Temari said with a blush on her face. Hinata thought back to when they had spent the night cuddled together trying to keep warm. When Temari mention it poking her she remembered the flashlight. "I remember it poking me, it was hard an annoying it wouldn't go down". Hinata admitted her past frustration. "Oh so it took some working getting it down and out". Temari said with a deep flushed face. She found herself having a deeper respect for Sasuke. Hinata looked at Temari puzzled at why she kept turning different shades of red. "We only slept together once" Hinata clarified any misunderstandings Temari might have been thinking.

"So did you enjoy it?" Temari asked again. "I really did enjoy it when his breath was on my neck and his arms were wrapped around my waist". Hinata admitted in a low voice. "Wow so he is a cuddler, i did not see that coming". Temari admitted out loud. "Cuddler?" Hinata thought to herself. Looking at Temari for a few moments she realized something. Every Time she saw Shikamaru , she thought of Temari and it was a good time as any to ask her about them. "So what is going on with you and shikamaru?" Hinata asked suddenly. Temari moved herself back towards the opposite end of the couch. "I don't know what you mean?" Temari said in a nonchalant manner. "I thought you two were dating" Hinata admitted. "Yeah i get that alot, most people think so too". Temari said in a low tone. "You don't like him?" Hinata asked softly.

Temari face turned a slight pink . "I don't not like him". Temari said sheepishly. "If you like him, then what's the problem?" Hinata asked in a curious tone. "It's complicated" Temari blurted out. Hinata smiled. "Complicated means there's at least a spark right?" Hinata questioned. Temari looked at her with a vulnerable look. "I don't know" Temari said a low tone. Hinata smiled as she watched her change from a confident person to a shy person. "Is there a problem that is keeping you guys apart?" Hinata asked in a low voice. Temari looked at her with a unsure look.

"Problem….there is no problem". Temari rubbed the back of her neck. " I don't think we have time for me to go into details , i mean you want to go see Sasuke right?" Temari said in high tone. Hinata didn't budge. "I answered all your questions right". Hinata replied. Temari bowed her head defeated. "It's only fair i guess, i can tell you on the way to the hospital". Temari said in a defeated tone. Hinata returned Temari an excited look. "It's not that interesting" Temari tried to tone down Hinata expectations but it was to no avail.

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